Salmon

My baby girl is so lucky to have grandparents in town. Pam, her grandmother, picks her up from daycare on the days that I work. They always have lots of fun. Last night was no exception. When I stopped by to pick her up, everyone was hanging out on the back porch. They were just playing music and singing and dancing. Ashtyn LOVES music and just stared at her Grandpa Nick while he sang to her. After a good 30 minutes of chit chatting and dancing we decided to take the party inside. Pam was making Salmon. If Ashtyn were anything like me she would turn her nose up at it. But no. This child is NOTHING like me. So of course, when offered some salmon, she tried it. She seemed to have a funny face at first, but kept eating it! I am not 100% how great Salmon is for a 7 month old, but you could not get her to stop. She definately liked it. I told Pam that she will be 2, going through the Wendy's drive through, asking for Crab Legs and Salmon instead of a kids meal! Oh well, we shall see what kind of a monster we have made when she gets older! But I wouldn't trade her for anything.

7 months

It's been too long since I have posted anything. Ashtyn turned 7 months on the 20th. She is growing up too fast. She now rolls all over the floor. She is very close to crawling, but not there yet. She is either pushing herself up on her arms, or face planting it because she is lifting herself up on her legs, or pushing herself backwards. She loves her toys and loves the sound of her voice even more! This child can talk the ear off her bear! Grandma and I have decided that she will definitely be a Chatty Kathy. Still no teeth, but she finally has the pooping down. That was one of the toughest weeks I have been through with her. She decided that she was done having her bink except for naps and bedtime. She also mainly wants her baby food and cereal over having a bottle. Ashtyn, your personality is amazing! At this rate, she is going to be a leader, not a follower. Not sure if that is a good thing, or a bad thing! And the biggest news so far....she is saying DADA. I cried. Where is the love!? Oh well. My mom reminded me that I said Dada first as well. At least she is taking after me!

I start more college classes next Tuesday. I am excited to be getting back into school again. But very sad to be spending even less time with Ashtyn. I will have classes in the morning and she will go to daycare. I am grateful for the help and ability to go back to school, and I know it will benefit us in the long run, but it makes me jealous that her dad will get her all day on Saturdays. It will only be on holidays that I will get her all day, since I will be working everyday that I am not in school. Once again....this will benefit us in the long run. I just have to keep telling myself that! I will post some pictures and videos soon.

XOXOXO

What a week!

Ashtyn turned 4 months old on the 20th. To celebrate, we went to Thermopolis and swam in the hot springs. Ashtyn loved it! I was surprised she lasted for over an hour. I bought her a boogy board that has a hole in the top for her head and stretchy material that held her up from the bottom. She was able to float around and kick her little feet. Although it took about an hour to get there, and she only swam for about an hour, it was definitely worth it!

Today was her 4 month check up. Since she has not been sleeping through the night, I asked the Dr if she could start on cereal. He said it was fine, just to feed her from a spoon instead of putting it in her bottle. I tried that tonight, but she hated it! After every spoonful of cereal, I had to put her pasi in her mouth so she would suck it down. I cross my fingers that she will get the hang of the cereal thing soon. It sure would be nice if she would go back to sleeping through the night!

While at the Dr's she also got 2 shots. When the nurse came in, Ashtyn smiled so big at her. The nurse just looked at her and told her that she would not be smiling for much longer. I love my Dr, but the nurses and the front desk ladies are HORRIBLE! The nurse STABBED Ashtyn in her cute little legs, and my poor girl just wailed! It is times like this that I wish my mother could be her nurse and give her her shots. She is so much better at it!

Frolfing and Swaddling

Ashtyn and I have officially used her crazy front backpack thingy. I NEVER thought I would use it, but it turns out that they are amazing. Ashtyn and I went frolfing (frisbee golfing) with Thunder on Sunday. It was the first nice day since our May snow storm...Oh Wyoming weather. She kinda fussed when we first put her in it, but when she realized she could see out the top and also chew on the fabric, she was content. She kicked her chunky little legs and chilled for about an hour. It was the best Sunday!

As of two nights ago....we have stopped swaddling her at night! This used to be the only way that she would sleep through the night. But over the last week I have noticed that she wiggles her way out of my famous DOUBLE swaddle. When I decided to not swaddled her, I crossed my fingers and expected a long sleepless night. I was thankfully wrong. Unfortunately, this means she is growing up faster than I am ready for! Tomorrow she will be 4 months old, and she is also almost ready to turn over. Ashtyn Dawn...slow down on the growing up...please?

Mom...I'm hungry again!

For the last 2 months, I have been patting myself on the back because of how well Ashtyn sleeps. She goes down around 8 or 8:30 at night and will sleep in until almost 8 in the morning. The patting has stopped. Ashtyn has hit her growth spurt and cannot seem to get enough to eat. I have tried feeding her 6 or more ounces before bed, but she usually falls asleep around ounce 3 or 4. Come 4AM my baby is crying for more food. This has also led to a new problem...her sleeping in bed with me! For my birthday this year, my parents gave me the family rocking chair. (Sorry siblings...but I asked for it first!) I have this in Ashtyn's room for occasions when she wakes up in the middle of the night and just wants to be held or fed. Lately, I am just too tired to sit up in the rocking chair to feed her. I have started slipping her into bed next to me and letting the pillow hold up the bottle and thus do the feeding. Once I hear her suck the bottle dry, she passes back out and usually stays in bed with me the last 2 hours before I have to get up and start getting ready for work. She is not yet 4 months and the Dr has said not to put her on cereal until she is 6 months. But he isn't the one getting up at 4AM to feed her! So now I am wondering...should I put a little cereal in her bedtime bottle?

Tylenol and Tissues

Ashtyn has a SMOKERS cough. I can hear her cough from the opposite side of the house. It makes me very sad! I first heard her nasty cough on Tuesday night when we first arrived in Rock Springs. I thought her cough was going to be the worst of it, but instead, she came up with a runny nose. The runny nose is worse because of the suction bulb. Ashtyn HATES the suction. By Friday we were both so exhausted that we cuddled on the couch all day. We love watching judge shows, and Ashtyn can't keep her eyes off of the TV when Maury comes on! We both didn't get up and get ready til close to 4 in the afternoon. We ran an errand and then watched more TV. I decided that tonight would be a great night to give her bath to her early. Around 7:30 I ran her an amazingly bubbly bath. After about 15 minutes of playing and washing her she was ready to be out. She got lotioned up, put in her jammies, and double swaddled. She wasn't yet ready to lay down, so I turned on her bouncer and let her lay there for a few minutes. That was all it took to get her to pass out. Unfortunately, she did not want to sleep her in bed. I tried 3 times to get her down before finally giving up and cuddling her next to me. It was then that I realized I needed her cuddling next to me more than she needed it. These moments are the most precious to me. Knowing that I am the one she wants and can't stand to be away from just warms my heart. Leaving her with Daddy this morning was very hard, but I know that he loves her just as much as I do, and loves to cuddle even more!

Rolling and Laughing

Ashtyn can only sleep well if she is swaddled, and lately she has to be double swaddled! I think I sleep better knowing she is double swaddled because there does not seem to be any possible way that she could roll around and move while in this semi-petrified state. I was COMPLETELY wrong. I woke up about 6 AM, yesterday morning, to find that my baby had gone from laying normal in her crib to shimmying 90 degrees, but still in her back! My child is a magician! I moved her back to her original position, stuck her paci back in her mouth and we both went back to sleep. This was only the first surprise for me on her 3 month birthday. Come 7AM, I wake up and start getting ready for work. Usually arond 7:30 I feed her and put her back to bed til about 8AM. From 8 til 8:30 it's Mommy and Baby time. I was busy lotioning her up under her neck when she started to smile. I started to tickle her more and she LAUGHED! More like cackled, but it was amazing. I was so sad to have to get her ready for daycare because I could have played with her all day long. I live to hear my baby laugh and see her smile. I love being a mom.